caroleeena Archives - Page 2 of 3 - Caroleeena's Circles Of Joy

Welcome To The Vegetable Circus (Triangle, NC)

By Caroleeena November 13, 2012hoopdance, hoopdance, Hooping, Poi, Uncategorizedcaroleeena, raleigh, Vegetable Circus

We just started a chapter of the Vegetable Circus in Raleigh, NC. We present in-school, after-school, and kids programs that highlight healthy nutrition, movement, and play. Consider starting a Vegetable Circus in your community.

The Value of a Hooper’s Training Journal … (and how to keep one)

By Caroleeena August 27, 2012hoopdance, Hooping, Uncategorizedcaroleeena, hoop journal, hoopdance, hooper's journal, hooping, how to make a hoop journal, hula hoop, journal, training3 Comments

Training Journals are great for learning, fun to peruse and full of insight. I love mine and I recommend keeping one. Bring it to classes, workshops, jams, and playdates. A Training Journal helps us cultivate and direct our growth. It serves as inspiration and aspiration, a collection of our epiphanies,…

Directed Gaze – Directing Energy in Dance

By Caroleeena April 27, 2012hoopdance, Hooping, Poi, Uncategorizedcaroleeena, dance, directed gaze, hoopdance3 Comments

Directed Gaze is a dance concept, a way of directing focus, a way of directing energy. We can make people look at things by looking at them. Don't believe it? Go out on any street, stop and look up in the sky. Watch what happens. By directing the gaze, the…

Mastery and the Beginner’s Mind

By Caroleeena December 13, 2011hoopdance, Hooping, Poi, Uncategorizedbeginner mind, beginner's mind, caroleeena, mastery1 Comment

Sometimes I hear a new hooper who is rushing breathlessly to learn the next trick say, "I've mastered everything but this..." and I have to smile. Mastery? Really? I've been hooping since 2003 and I don't feel like I've come anywhere close to mastering any aspect of it. I just keep…

Creating Lines in Hoopdance

By Caroleeena December 9, 2011hoopdance, Uncategorizedcaroleeena, creating lines, dance, hoopdance, lines, poi dance1 Comment

In hoopdance we don’t often think of creating lines. Hooping is round and we tend to relate to it with a round mindset. There are many ways we can utilize lines in hoopdance though. We can travel in lines, we can create lines with our posture, our arms, our legs, we…

The Big Finish!

By Caroleeena December 8, 2011hoopdance, Uncategorizedbig finish, caroleeena, hoop dance, hoopdance, ta da ending

When it come to polishing your dance, few things shine as much as "The Big Finish". The Big Finish is one of the things that differentiates between dancing and performing. It's also one of the things that distinguishes between a hooper and hoopdancer. The Big Finish is comprised of three parts:…

Winter – The Time of Roots Growing beneath the Soil

By Caroleeena December 7, 2011hoopdance, Hooping, Poi, Uncategorizedcaroleeena, growing, growth, hoop, hoopdance. hoop dance, hooping, hula hoop, movement arts, poi, roots, time, winter3 Comments

When we look at trees in winter, we think of them as dormant. But they are not dormant. Even if, to the naked eye, they do not appear to be growing, they are growing. After bursting forth with new growth in springtime, trees bud and blossom, burgeon and bloom, branch out…

Power-Full Posture

By Caroleeena November 27, 2011Hooping, Poi, Uncategorizedcaroleeena, posture

When you slouch, your shoulders roll forward, your head droops, your general appearance becomes that of a person who is afraid of taking up space. Physiologically, the diaphragm becomes compressed, breathing becomes constricted, energy is restricted. Yoga teaches us that our chi, or energy, flows most effectively when we extend and…

Playing with Beat Punctuation (and Pah!)

By Caroleeena November 25, 2011hoopdance, Poibeat punctuation, caroleeena, dance, hoopdance, poi dance2 Comments

When I dance with my hoop, I emphasize different places in the music with my hoop or my body. If the tempo of the music moves from fast to slow, my movement moves from fast to slow. Where the melody rises and falls, I also tend to rise and fall. And…

How to Make Sock Poi (with stuff you have in the house right now!)

By Caroleeena November 23, 2011Poicaroleeena, craft, create, diy, make, poi, sock poi1 Comment

Poi come from the people of the Maori tribe of New Zealand. Poi translates to "ball on string" and that's literally what they are. The Maori make them by taking a small square of cloth and pouring flax seed into the center, then tying the corners of the cloth together with…